Chapter 557 That Person

The original iron smelting furnaces in Daxia were very simple. Ore was mixed with charcoal and pounded into the furnace. A simple blower was used to ignite the furnace. As long as the furnace temperature reached more than 1,200 degrees Celsius, block-shaped iron could be produced. Then, it was processed into steel through various forging processes.

However, the blast furnace in Dayuan was different. Qin Mo used coke from the beginning to raise the furnace temperature to more than 1,500 degrees. Only when the temperature exceeds the melting point of iron can molten iron be obtained. In terms of both output and quality, it was far superior to the mainstream iron smelting method of Daxia.

This time, the new blast furnace technology at Ma'anshan Iron and Steel Plant is more complete, and the corresponding ignition procedure is more complicated. From furnace drying, filling, ignition to normal production, it took nearly twenty days. Today, it is finally time to tap the molten iron.

"Everyone, enter the changing room, change into your work clothes as required, put on your safety helmets, and then come out to assemble. Do not wander around on your own!"

Even though they were still quite far from the blast furnace area, Shi Jing directed a group of dumbfounded girls into the changing room to change their clothes.

"Do we... still need to change into those clothes? Those are... short shirts worn by lowly people!"

"Yes, it doesn't matter if the clothes are dirty or torn, but if they are unseemly, people will laugh at us to death if word gets out."

A petite young woman surnamed Han saw the steelworkers' dirty work clothes and immediately expressed great dissatisfaction with the ugly and low-class clothes. Several other girls around her echoed her sentiments.

"Nobody invited you here. If you don't want to leave, just go back. What are you poor bastards pretending to be high-class for!"

Miss Han turned her head and glared at the source of the voice, just in time to see a tall, aloof girl staring at them with disdain and contempt in her eyes.

“Miss Xiao, they are just a little unaccustomed to it. Please don’t be so harsh!” As the de facto leader of the young ladies in the capital, Zhang Wenlu stood up to protect her companions’ face, even though Miss Han was also at fault.

"The steel mill has its own rules, even princes have to follow them. Who are you? You should be grateful that we've allowed you to come and broaden your horizons!"

"Alright, Yue'er, stop talking. Entering the blast furnace area is voluntary. Those who want to go in can change their clothes! Those who don't want to change can just look around from the outside."

"Hmph! They got off easy!" said the tall, aloof girl named Yue'er coldly before entering the changing room first.

"Shengnan, why is Miss Xiao... so extreme?"

“Wenlu, you may think Xiao Yue’er is rude, but do you know that we were not even qualified to enter the blast furnace area before? Even though Xiao Yue’er’s father has been in charge of Dayuan Iron and Steel Institute for more than ten years, she was never qualified to go in and take a look at the blast furnace!”

“…”

The young ladies in the capital city usually thought highly of themselves and were very indignant at Xiao Yue'er's mockery and contempt, but Shi Shengnan's subsequent words silenced them.

The blast furnace is one of the core secrets of Dayuan's industry. The people of Dayuan have a special veneration for the blast furnace, and women have always been strictly forbidden from entering the blast furnace area.

Watching the girls from the high-ranking officials obediently change into those ugly linen work clothes, Zhang Wenlu silently led the way into the changing room.

Zhang Wenlu took the lead, and the girls from the Shuiyun Poetry Society followed her in. Finally, Miss Han muttered a curse under her breath and went into the changing room as well.

These days, the people from the Tianshui Cloud Poetry Society are getting very close to the Wild Tribulus side, but not all the young ladies from the capital agree with the views of the female students from Dayuan. A few young ladies are particularly obvious in this regard, and Miss Han is one of them.

In their eyes, Shi Shengnan and others were simply unchaste, disloyal, and unfilial. Without the blessings of their ancestors, they would not have their own wealth. Since they enjoyed the wealth of their families, it was only right and proper for them to follow their families' arrangements and marry into other families.

Ms. Han reluctantly took her own set of work clothes and went into the changing room. Fortunately, they were all brand new, otherwise she would have thrown them away and left.

After putting on the rough, thick linen work clothes, the heavy and awkward willow safety helmet, and the ill-fitting suede boots that were even uglier, Ms. Han forced herself to put them on and stared blankly at the remaining small piece of cloth.

"This is a mask, used to block dust!" Zhang Wenlu, who was already dressed, came over and helped Ms. Han put on the dust mask, and then went to help others tidy up their clothes.

"Everyone, stay with your team leader. Do not enter the danger zone, do not make loud noises, and do not..."

Shi Jing divided the hundreds of girls into ten groups and had experienced technicians lead them into the core area, while emphasizing safety rules again.

"What a long-winded talker... How could Wenlu have fallen for this fussy man? She used to pretend all the time that she wouldn't marry anyone but Liangjun, but now she's just giving in to her family's arrangements. What a hypocrite!"

Miss Han was very unhappy because Xiao Yue'er had embarrassed her, and she even looked down on Zhang Wenlu, who was close to the female student from Dayuan.

However, she soon stopped looking down on Shi Jing, because she saw a large group of high-ranking officials from the imperial court, and her uncle was following behind Xia Li, the Minister of Works, serving him carefully.

The fussy Shi Jing merely gave a perfunctory bow to the two ministers, completely ignoring the other vice ministers. Yet, his arrogance and rudeness earned him smiles and praise from the two high-ranking officials.

"This Shi Jing... he actually has such influence?" Miss Han stared blankly at Shi Jing, who was acting so confidently in front of all the big shots, and discovered for the first time a different kind of aura about this young man.

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